Partnership between DMV, VDH to provide citizen access to records

Gov. Bob McDonnell today announced the partnership between the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and the Virginia Department of Health allowing DMV to issue birth certificates at its customer service centers beginning March 1, 2014.  Beginning January 1, 2015, DMV is authorized to issue certified copies of all death, marriage, and divorce records. The partnership stems from Senator Steve Newman’s (R-Lynchburg) vital records bill passed during the 2013 General Assembly session.

The partnership was formally announced today by Sen. Newman, State Health Commissioner Dr. Cynthia Romero and DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb during an event at the Lynchburg DMV Customer Service Center.

“This partnership will make it easier for Virginians to do business with the Commonwealth by streamlining access to vital records,” said Governor McDonnell. “It is a great example of government working better for its citizens.”

“VDH Vital Records and DMV are already providing outstanding service to citizens,” said Senator Newman. “My bill increases the number of outlets for Virginians to securely access those services. We want to make sure that these vital records, which are held in Richmond, are available to the public as easily as possible.”

Customers will still be able to obtain documents from the VDH Division of Vital Records office in Richmond, or by ordering online for delivery through the mail. The new partnership will make paper birth certificates from 1912 onward available at all 75 DMV customer service centers throughout the state beginning March 1, 2014.

“With over 9,000 people stopping by our Richmond office each month, it is clear that Virginians are taking advantage of walk-in vital records services,” said State Health Commissioner Cynthia Romero. “We’re excited to partner with DMV to offer the same services in locations throughout the state.”

VDH and DMV have already laid the groundwork for issuing vital records by joining the multi-state Electronic Verification of Vital Events (EVVE) network, developed and implemented by the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS). Through EVVE, Virginia DMV can verify a customer’s birth record through databases in 31 states, including Virginia. The transaction takes place while the customer is at the counter and prevents eligible customers from being turned away only to return another day with a paper record to complete their DMV business.

“We have already been able to verify more than 4,400 birth records for our customers, nearly 3,000 of which were Virginia birth records,” said DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb. “These are customers who previously would have been turned away from DMV until they could produce a paper birth certificate. We are excited to offer this service, and our customers are appreciative.”

The cost to the customer for EVVE certification of a Virginia birth record is $14. The other participating states set their own fees, which vary from state to state.